Johnny Horton

Johnny Horton was a small-time criminal who volunteered for unauthorized genetic experiments, emerging as the Griffin — a monstrous, animalistic powerhouse. His transformation made him one of Marvel's early man-beast villains, debuting in the pages of Amazing Adventures in 1972.

Bronze Age Marvel has no shortage of wild cards, and Johnny Horton — who first prowled onto the scene in Amazing Adventures #15 in 1972, courtesy of Steve Englehart and Tom Sutton — is one of those gloriously offbeat figures who keeps resurfacing across nearly four decades of Marvel history. With 27 appearances spanning from 1972 all the way to 2010, he's carved out a niche presence across titles like The Champions, Avengers: The Initiative, and Namor, the Sub-Mariner, rubbing shoulders with heavy hitters like Captain America, Spider-Man, Ms. Marvel, and Hawkeye. That kind of company — and the fact that one of his appearances carries genuine key-issue weight with collectors — tells you this is a character with more staying power than his relatively modest page count might suggest. If you love digging into the stranger corners of the Marvel universe, Johnny Horton is exactly the kind of discovery that makes Bronze Age hunting so rewarding.